


your eyes are like doves

by TiragonNova



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Biblical Themes (Abrahamic Religions), Inspired by Song of Solomon, M/M, Protective Dean Winchester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:08:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27932854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TiragonNova/pseuds/TiragonNova
Summary: Castiel has gone missing and Dean faces a powerful entity to bring him back.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Kudos: 16





	your eyes are like doves

**Author's Note:**

> I'm ignoring the canon plot because if the writers of the show don't need narrative consistency with the rest of the show, why should I be beholden to the same standards?

**the night after**

_On my bed by night  
I sought him whom my soul loves;  
I sought him, but found him not._

As if he had broken the surface of water after drowning, Dean Winchester awoke with a gasp of air. The silence pierced through him and he threw the blankets off of him, letting the cool air brush his skin as he made his way to the bathroom. Each step was heavy like a funeral procession.

Dean washed his hands, letting the water get as hot as he could stand it and then a little hotter. Finally, it was too much and he shut off the water. The pain was welcome, though. It meant he was alive and could punish himself. 

His reflection stared back at him, vestiges of his age creeping around the edges. He looked hard for any movement behind him and listened for anything - the faintest of flutters - nearby. There was nothing.

He slammed his fist on the edge of the sink and screamed.

The morning brought more composure, though the lack of sleep was harder to mask.

“You look like shit,” Sam quipped and handed Dean a slice of toast as he entered the kitchen.

Dean grunted a thanks. No one should be that perky in the morning, and no one should be that perky after what had happened.

He took a few bites and hated that he felt better for it. Starving himself would be a more appropriate response. With a sigh, he plopped on a chair and looked over at Sam. “Any luck?”

Sam scrunched his face. “There’s not a lot of info on the Snatcher, obviously, but I’m seeing some reports that look promising.”

The cracks in his composure split again. “How did this bastard even pull this off?” he shouted. “This place is supposed to be, you know-” he gestured around, “a bunker.” He huffed. “And what the hell were you doing?”

“Hey!” Sam snapped back. “I was sleeping. You know because I thought this was a safe place to do something like that.” He shook his head. “Don’t go blaming me for what happened to Cas. I’m upset, too, but it’s not my fault.”

Dean stood up. “Don’t,” he pointed at Sam, “compare how you feel and how I feel.” He looked around again. “Looks like you got a pretty good night’s rest last night. Woke up early, all bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready to make-” he picked up the bit of toast he had left and threw it across the table- “fucking breakfast.” Slamming the chair into the table as he pushed it back in, Dean stalked back to his room.

“Dean!” Sam called after him. “Hey!” Dean felt a hand on his shoulder and wrenched it off his body. He couldn’t stand the touch.

“Upset,” he said. “Doesn’t seem like you’re all that upset to me, is all.”

“No.” Sam put himself between Dean and the door. Dean assessed all the ways he could kick Sam’s ass and get out of there, but nothing seemed worth the effort. He let himself look Sam in the eye.

Sam looked pissed. “You don’t get to mope around and then take your anger out on me,” he said. “What have you done to help?”

Dean opened his mouth to bite out a reply, but nothing came. He took a breath. What had he done besides toss and turn and throw a tantrum in the middle of the night? He looked at Sam again. There was hurt in his eyes much like the hurt he saw in the mirror. That Sam was level-headed even through this was a blessing.

“What are some of the leads you got?” he said with a sigh. “I can look into them.” That seemed to satisfy Sam enough not to expect another outburst out of Dean. If only prayer and outbursts worked, Cas would have been back by now.

Sam took him through some of the more promising leads, and Dean mapped out a course to go to the furthest point and make his way back to the bunker with the stops along the way. The trunk was packed with the usual weapons as well as some holy oil and an angel blade. The Snatcher was abducting all sorts of creatures, but they didn’t want to discount angels nabbing other angels.

It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility and Dean had a flash of staring up at Cas, pleading with him to snap out of his brainwashing. It was a lifetime ago. He slammed the trunk and got in the front, immediately blasting music as he tore out of the bunker’s garage. Sam would be staying behind not only for the stable wifi connection, but because Dean wanted to be alone on this trip.

There was nothing so calming as the highway at 3:00 a.m. With the windows rolled down and the music off, Dean enjoyed the quiet solitude. Sleep wouldn’t come tonight either, so there was no point in paying for a motel room when he could cover more miles instead. The plan to investigate all the reports was in place. All Dean had to do was follow through.

“Cas,” he whispered, not wanting to disturb the silence. “I don’t know if you, uh, if you can hear me. But if you can, I’m gonna get you back. So help answer this prayer by staying alive wherever you are.”

**the day of reckoning**

_Who is this who looks down like the dawn,  
beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun,  
awesome as an army with banners?_

After the first two leads were busts - one turning out to be a vampire and werewolf turf battle that Dean did not get in the middle of, and the other where an angel was the one doing the kidnapping, albeit of abused children which Dean also wasn’t going to stop - Dean finally gave into getting a motel room. Sleep hit him the way he hit the bed, sudden and heavy. 

He floated down a corridor, unable to touch the floor, but guided by some unknown force. This had to be a dream; it was too weird to be real and he didn’t remember getting out of bed. There was nothing to do but let himself go along with the ride. Which looked to end at a room with a white light. 

Dean scoffed. Talk about your metaphors.

Once he passed through the light, it took a moment for his eyes to adjust. Alone in the room stood Cas, surrounded by a ring of Holy Fire. Cas was sitting on the floor, looking like he was meditating. Dean struggled to stop floating, but he was stuck in place. 

“Cas!”

Cas looked up at Dean and confusion painted his face. “How are you here?” He cocked his head. “And why are you floating?”

“I’m not trying to, man.” Dean flailed around some more to no avail. “Last thing I knew I was asleep.”

Cas focused his gaze on Dean more intently. “Ah. I see.” He stood up. “You’re in the astral plane.”

Dean folded his arms. “I’m astral projecting?” He kicked out again, only managing to move to the other side of the ring. “Then why can’t I move where I want?”

Considering the point for a moment, Castiel replied. “Perhaps since you’re not consciously aware of doing it, it’s harder to control.”

The force pulled on Dean again to the other door in the room. “Wait! No! Cas, tell me where you are! I’m gonna save you!”

Cas focused. “I can’t determine what the exact location is, but this Snatcher is dangerous, Dean.”

“Dammit, I don’t care, Cas. I’m not going to leave you stuck here.”

“I know,” said Cas with a smile playing on his lips as Dean was pulled out of the room. Dean tried to get back in, to get more information, to talk to Cas again, but to no avail. For the second time that week he woke up gasping for air.

He managed to fall asleep again, knowing he would need his strength when he found out where Cas was being held captive, but the dream or astral projection didn’t come this time. It was another fitful night’s sleep and Dean grabbed a pack of caffeine pills from the convenience store before filling up his tank.

The third lead was more difficult to pinpoint. The same whispers of some non-humans being kidnapped flitted around the rumor mill. Most of the hunters in the area didn’t care much. As far as they were concerned, humans weren’t being hurt and if a couple vampires or a demon went missing, that was all the better. That only strengthened Dean’s suspicion that this was the best lead to getting to Cas.

“Hey,” a patron at the bar waved him over. “Got something that might help ya out.” Dean slowly walked over before settling on the stool next to them.

“What?” Dean didn’t know if he could trust this person, but he wasn’t in a position to refuse any help.

After taking a swig of their - Dean cringed - hard cider they looked over at Dean. “There’s a place east past the tracks that everyone just kinda avoids.”

Dean raised an eyebrow. “Avoid it how?”

The cider-drinker took another drink. “I dunno. Gives everyone the heebie jeebies.”

“The ‘heebie jeebies?’”

They shrugged. “That’s as best I can describe the feelin’. I’m just trying to help ya out.” They stared at Dean. “Whatever it is you’re lookin’ for, you best be prepared for it.” They set their bottle down on the bar and flagged the server over. “Here’s for my tab and get this guy a drink on me.” They glanced at Dean. “He’ll need it.”

The moment Dean crossed the railroad tracks, he understood exactly what the person at the bar meant by ‘heebie jeebies.’ There was something _off_ about this place. As he drove down a hill, a warehouse came into view. Dean parked the Impala out of sight, grabbing a few things out of the trunk. A shotgun and angel blade would have to suffice for now.

The door to the warehouse was unlocked. Someone wasn’t concerned about break-ins. Dean walked slowly into the building. Nothing was in the main room and the air was thick with silence. He made his way to one of the doors. Once he opened it, he was smacked with the view of the very corridor from his apparent astral projection. This was it. This was where Cas was.

It took everything in him not to sprint down the corridor. He kept an eye out for any traps. A shout rang out and Dean felt his heart quicken. It didn’t sound like Cas’ voice but with the other abductions in the area, he wouldn’t be surprised if this is where they were all held.

The shouts grew louder and Dean found himself following the sound. He pulled open the door and saw a demon in a devil’s trap in the middle of the room. She was screaming out for help and the sight of her on the ground, bloody and broken made Dean’s stomach turn.

“What happened to you?” Dean asked as he stepped into the circle.

“Get back, hunter,” the demon snapped, but cried again in pain at the effort. A tear streamed down her face. “I can’t get out of the vessel.” She gasped. “He didn’t even try to get any information out of me! He was just torturing me!” She screamed again.

Dean turned away. “Please don’t leave me like this!” the demon begged. It didn’t feel good to want to help a demon, but the thought that the same thing might be happening to Cas broke his resolve. 

“Let me just,” he said as he looked around. He took out the angel blade and the demon cried out again, screaming that the Snatcher had used one on her. “Okay, okay, I’m not going to hurt you, I’m just trying to help.”

He knelt down and broke the devil’s trap with the blade. “I don’t know how to heal you,” he said.

She looked up at him. “It’s okay. I can-” She moved to crawl out of the trap. “If I can get out of here, I can figure it out.” Dean watched as she grunted and slid across the floor, stifling her cries.

“Hey,” Dean said. 

“What,” the demon snapped.

“Are there others here?”

She stopped and sighed. “I think two before me got absolutely wrecked.” She tried to sit up. “There’s an angel here, though. I think he’s trying to figure out the best way to hurt him. Sick freak.”

Dean nodded. “Thank you,” he said and ran out of the room. There was no time to waste. He had to follow the corridor to the room with Cas.

When he got there, he threw open the door just as the Snatcher held the blade above Cas. The interruption made him hesitate. “What are you doing here?”

Cas smiled. “You made it.”

The Snatcher ran at Dean and Dean held up his own angel blade, clashing against the other. That gave the Snatcher pause. “You have a blade of these wicked creatures, too, I see?” He stepped back. “They think they are doing good work, but they can’t with a master that keeps them selfish, filling their heads with lies.” 

Dean assessed the situation, watching as the Snatcher spoke. He was tall and looked every bit like he walked out of a Biblical story. “I was a king and sentenced to madness for what? Arrogance? As if any mortal man doesn’t find solace in power.” He pointed at Cas with his blade. “But inhuman monsters walk the Earth and Beasts shall rise. He saw it. He told of it, and we must be prepared.”

Dean scoffed. “What are you?”

“I was a king!” the Snatcher yelled. “Once I was like you, of flesh and death. But no want can hurt me now.” He turned his attention back to Cas, walking over to him. “And angels, so depicted as lovely things.” He held Cas by the chin. “Looking like lovely things.”

Dean flinched, and stepped toward Cas, but stopped when Cas shook his head.

“They crawl out of the ground and seek wickedness.” The Snatcher held the blade to Cas’ throat.

“Don’t!” Dean yelled out, holding his hand out as if he could merely pull Cas away from this without a fight. “Don’t hurt him!”

“Who are you?” the Snatcher asked as he rounded on Dean again, crossing the room with imperceptible speed.

With a clenched jaw, Dean held his head high. “Dean Winchester.”

A hiss spewed from the Snatcher’s mouth. “I destroyed God! I did it. I broke his temple and he fled like a coward!” He spat on the ground. “And you think you can claim such a victory!”

“I did what I had to do,” Dean said, not following what the Snatcher was saying. It sounded like an insult, though. “You’re not the only one who’s ever fought God.” He smirked. “I guess I was just better at it.”

“I have given gifts to the one I love and slain those that betray what it means to love. And I need them, these powers of these vile things. A threat is coming, the likes of which you can never know.” He stepped forward. “Help me, Dean Winchester. Your reputation precedes you, of course and I know you stand for goodness and do not want to watch the fall of humanity. Help me bring down this great threat.”

Dean took a deep breath. “You gotta let Cas go.”

The Snatcher stepped back with raised eyebrows and glanced at Cas. “This… thing that’s been created as a weapon for a coward? This Castiel you’ve given such a fond nickname to?” 

“He’s what I came here for, now let him go you crazy son of a bitch!” Dean rushed to the Snatcher, angel blade held high, hoping it would be enough to kill this thing.

The Snatcher stepped out of the way with a swiftness that would make this whole fight a problem. “But why?” he asked, wide-eyed. “Is this wretched creature worth letting the Earth fall to evil?”

Dean gritted his teeth. Cas looked between the two of them. “Don’t do anything stupid, Dean.”

“Listen here, buddy,” Dean began. “I don’t know what this threat is, but Cas is good. He’s better than all of us and I won’t let you hurt him.”

The Snatcher circled around Cas. “You know the suffix of his name is what ties him to God.” He looked at Dean. “And you’ve removed that with just a syllable,” he added, studying Cas intently.

Dean made for the Snatcher again now that his focus had shifted. The Snatcher held out a hand and grabbed Dean’s wrist. He turned his head to face Dean. “Why have you become so attached to this thing?”

“He’s my friend.”

The Snatcher nodded and dropped Dean’s hand. “I had a wife once,” he said. “I would have given her the world, but I could only bring her a small part of home.” He paced the floor. “I could bring her back. I could, but raising someone from the dead? Wrong. Bad. Unnatural. Much as this long life is unnatural. I have to set it right.”

Pacing back and forth the Snatcher kept muttering under his breath. Dean didn’t care to listen to what he had to say. If he was going to stop Dean every time he went to stab him then getting Cas out of that ring of holy fire was the only thing that mattered in the moment.

He spotted what he needed on the ceiling. With no time to hesitate, Dean slipped off his jacket and stuck it in the flames. The jacket, now ablaze, brought the attention of the Snatcher. “What are you doing?” he yelled as Dean threw his jacket high, hitting the fire sprinkler square on. Water spewed out of it, quickly dousing the fire.

“No!” yelled the Snatcher as he ran to Cas. Dean ran to him at the same time but Cas was quicker than both of them and appeared by the door. 

“Dean, we need to leave,” he said urgently.

“Not until this bastard pays for what he did.”

“Dean,” Cas pleaded more insistently.

Dean looked back at Cas. “If he got you once, he can get you again. We need to stop him!” In that moment, the Snatcher pushed Dean to the ground, holding his angel blade high above his head, ready to strike.

Faster than either Dean or the Snatcher could process, Cas appeared to them and pulled them apart. He threw the Snatcher across the room, who took almost no time to recover before running at Cas again. The fight was too fast for Dean to process and he shuffled to the side.

He was useless here. All he could do was stare in wonder. Cas was powerful beyond anything Dean could comprehend and yet all he wanted to do was protect Cas. He’d failed in that the other night and now Cas was in this situation, and it was Cas that was doing the work to get them out of it.

“Dean!” Cas shouted as he held the Snatcher down. 

Dean snapped to attention and leapt over, angel blade unsheathed. The Snatcher struggled to get out of Cas’ grip but couldn’t get out before Dean stuck him between the ribs. The Snatcher let out a cry that echoed around them.  
Then he relaxed. “Amytis,” he breathed out. It gave Dean enough of an opening to get him again. He kept at it again and again. How could this whatever this was take Cas from him? His plan to fight off some great evil couldn’t come at the expense of Cas. He’d asked Dean if Cas was worth dooming humanity. 

Cas was worth it all.

Hands gripped Dean’s shoulders, pulling him off the limp body of the Snatcher. No blood pooled around him but he was silent and still. “Dean,” Cas whispered. “I think he’s dead.” He paused. “Or at least his soul is no longer in that body.”

Dean turned around, throwing his arms around Cas. “I thought I was going to lose you again.”

Cas returned the embrace. “Thank you for saving me.”

Dean pulled apart, moving his hands to cup Cas’ face. Cas looked up at him, a smile playing across his lips. Dean leaned in, catching Cas by surprise in his kiss. He relaxed into the kiss, sighing as a hand slid to hold the back of Dean’s head. The sprinkler kept spraying, though the fire had been put out long ago.

**never to part, but for lips**

_It goes down smoothly for my beloved,  
gliding over lips and teeth._

The drive back to the motel was silent. Glancing at Cas seemed too great a risk. Leaving the warehouse felt like stepping back into reality. A reality where he and Cas didn’t kiss. Dean shifted in his seat and turned up the music. The song on the tape reminded him of his father. John would have a field day if he knew what had just happened.

That was just typical. Dean killed - or at least incapacitated - some ancient being and he was more focused on what his dad would say about him kissing an angel in celebration. Yeah. It was in celebration. A celebratory kiss between friends. That kind of thing was a thing that happened all the time. There was no way to think his dad would have been mad about that.

“Dean,” Cas said softly. 

Dean turned down the music. He cleared his throat. “Yeah, Cas.”

“You look troubled.”

He shrugged. “I don’t really know what we dealt with back there, or if he’s really gone.”

Cas nodded. “Ah. I was worried you were upset about kissing me.”

With a cough, Dean swerved the car to the side of the road and parked. “What?” Of course Cas knew exactly what the problem was.

“Do you regret doing so?” Dean chanced a glance at Cas and was struck with those eyes of his. They were always so damn earnest and peaceful.

“It was weird, wasn’t it?” Dean said, trying to play it off.

“Was it?” Cas asked, looking away.

The thought that Cas could even come close to feeling the same way Dean did was laughable. In that moment, Dean realized he did feel a way about Cas. “Well, you’re an angel and all. You probably don’t want all that.”

Cas simply replied, “I want it from you.”

Dean choked on his spit and looked at Cas. “Why? I’m nothing special.”

Cas cocked his head and furrowed his brows. “You are so special, Dean. You are the reason I love this world so much. Because I love you. Don’t you see that?”

Dean shrugged off his words. “Yeah, I mean, you love me. I love you. We’re family, you know.”

With a sigh, Cas turned Dean’s face to look him in the eye. “What I feel for you is not a familial connection. It’s okay if you don’t feel the same. I just think you should know.”

“I think I-” Dean’s voice broke. “I think I do feel the same way.”

Cas smiled. “I’m glad.”

Dean smiled back and pulled the car back on the road before reaching out to hold Cas’ hand. It didn’t matter what his dead dad would have to say about this. The only thing that mattered was what Cas thought. And Cas wasn’t some unobtainable ideal anymore. He loved Dean. 

Dean’s smile grew. He was in love with Cas. That sure was something. The feeling in his chest was like an explosion of something warm, something that rid the ache of years of tightness. Cas squeezed his hand and looked over at him.

They rode like that the rest of the way to the motel. Once the door was shut behind them, they shed their wet clothes. Cas’ skin was cold to the touch, and Dean felt goosebumps raise on his arms. He kissed Cas softly and with all the gentleness of holding something precious. 

“Let me get the hot water going,” Dean said and Cas smiled and nodded.

He let the water run over his hand as it warmed up. If he could let Cas’ love wash over him so easy, he’d be happy to live like this forever. He heard a sound behind him as Cas stepped into the bathroom. The sight of Cas fully naked in the poor lighting of a cheap motel was perhaps the most angelic Dean had ever seen him.

“Come here,” Dean said as he turned and held out his arms. Cas stepped forward and let his waist be embraced as Dean leaned his head on Cas’ thighs. On his knees, as in prayer, he wanted to be one with the walls of Cas’ body. Love and delight in this was the first time he’d felt real faith. Faith in Cas was something he would not waver in. He would take his sacrament and rejoice.

**love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.**

_I am my beloved's,  
and his desire is for me._

The next morning, as the two of them packed up the Impala, Dean called Sam. “Yeah, so Cas and I maybe killed the guy.”

“Maybe?” Dean could hear the judgement in his brother’s voice.

Dean scoffed. “Yeah. Maybe. Look we don’t know what we’re dealing with here. He could have just left the vessel or something. Or at least Cas said his soul wasn’t in the body.”

“Okay, that makes sense,” Sam agreed. “Did you get any information from him?”

Dean shook his head as he answered. “Not much. He rambled like he was touched in the head. Said something about destroying God’s temple? And said something as he died. Sounded like ‘Amethyst’ or something.”

“Okay,” Sam said and Dean could hear him pulling out the laptop. “I’ll do some looking into this, and you call me back if you remember anything. How far are you two from the bunker?”

Dean leaned on the car and looked out at the road. “Not far, but we probably won’t be back for a few days. Cas and I are going to take some time to ourselves.” He coughed and added with a mumble, “To be with each other.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“Well-” Dean started, but the implication finally dawned on Sam.

“Oh, you mean like you two are…?” he trailed off.

“Yep.”

“Good for you,” Sam said, and sounded genuinely like he meant it. There were so many things that Sam shamed him for and it was a small blessing that getting together with Cas wasn’t one of them. “Tell Cas ‘hi’ for me, will you? I was worried.”

“Sure thing, Sammy.” They hung up and Dean pushed himself off the side of the car. “Let’s go, Cas!” he called out before getting in and starting the engine.

The road was long, but it was easy with Cas by his side.

**Author's Note:**

> If there's one thing I love doing with my work it's "Biblical, but make it sexy" like I'm some sort of repressed ex-Catholic.
> 
> The translation from Song of Solomon/Song of Songs I quoted from is the New International Version of the Bible. Other translations may use slightly different wording, but I believe the same intention is there regardless of translation. However, I just wanted to be clear in the resources I referenced as my other Biblical references use the NIV as my primary reading. I'm by no means a Biblical scholar and know there is a lot of discussion and interpretation of Scripture, which I find fascinating, but for the purposes of this fic, I wanted to keep it semi-consistent in where I pulled from.


End file.
